- 22 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00At the train station, a very bright light suddenly shines through the window.
00:04When a homeless man turns around, he's shocked to see Pratt appear out of nowhere under the light.
00:08At that moment, two kids push an old lady to steal her purse and run away.
00:12Pratt tries to help the lady stand up, only for the cops to arrive and assume he's the robber.
00:16The homeless man and the old lady immediately clarify that he didn't do it.
00:20An officer asks Pratt if he's traveling, so he explains he just arrived and he's done traveling
00:24for now. When she asks about his luggage and his ticket, Pratt says he doesn't need luggage and
00:28he didn't arrive by train. Next the cop asks him to remove his sunglasses, but he refuses because
00:33this planet is really bright. These strange answers cause the cops to arrest him. They also ask the
00:38homeless man which gate Pratt came out of, so the guy tells them he didn't come from any gate.
00:42A month later at the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan, Dr. Mark is having a therapy session
00:46with Ernie, a man who is terrified of going outside because of the deadly germs. Ernie doesn't take off
00:51his mask until Mark closes the window and keeps complaining about germs being everywhere, like
00:55the cafeteria food. Afterward a new patient is transferred from another hospital. Mark goes
01:00to the lab and watches Pratt for a second before the doctors fill him in. The cops sent Pratt to
01:05the hospital under suspicion of hallucinogenic intoxication, but all his tests came out clean.
01:09There are no signs of illnesses or concussions either. He's been diagnosed with amnesia and
01:13delusions because he keeps claiming that he's come from another planet. The doctors have heavily
01:17medicated him yet there's been no change in behavior, which shocks Mark. They found no ID on
01:22him and no missing person report matches his description, but they did find some papers with
01:26weird symbols in his pocket. Then Pratt is taken to Mark's office and he comments on the expressions
01:30Mark uses to talk. He also takes a red apple from a bowl, saying it's his favorite. Pratt knows
01:35everyone thinks he's crazy, but he swears he isn't. He does feel a bit homesick and claims his home is
01:40a planet named Kapex, which is 1000 light years away in the Lyra constellation. To come to Earth,
01:45he harnessed the energy of light and traveled many times that speed. When Mark asks why he looks human,
01:50Pratt explains that he looks human here, but on Kapex he looks like a Kapexian.
01:54This isn't the first time he visits Earth, and he keeps coming because he's curious about planets
01:58that are still in early stages of evolution. Later in the common room, patient Howie asks
02:02Pratt about his home planet. Pratt shares some descriptions, like the seven purple moons and
02:07the two suns. Meanwhile Mark goes home to his wife Rachel and their daughters. However he doesn't
02:12pay attention to anything Rachel says. The next day Mark shares with his colleagues a recording of his
02:16chat with Pratt. They learned he's been to 64 planets and that he arrived on Earth 4 years and
02:219 months ago. He also claims to be 337 years old. The doctors discuss a possible diagnosis but they
02:27can't think of anything immune to the medicine Pratt was given in the other hospital. Mark wonders if he
02:31truly is an alien, and the others laugh. During the next session, Pratt eats a banana with the peel on.
02:37Mark asks about Kapexian babies, so Pratt explains that their reproduction process is very painful.
02:42He pauses their chat to write some things down in his notebook, since he's keeping a report of all
02:46the places he's visited. After the session, Pratt returns to the common room and says hello to all
02:51the patients by name. Bess doesn't reply, and Ernie explains she doesn't talk to anybody because
02:55she's afraid smoke will come out of her mouth. She was brought to the institute as a child after she
03:00burned her house down, although Howie says it was an electrical fire. Meanwhile Doris yells at the
03:04nurse and throws food at his face for asking her to come out, knowing she never leaves her room.
03:08Pratt comes closer and notices her table is set for two, so he asks if he can join. Doris calls
03:14him a gentleman and fixes her hair and makeup while confessing she's been waiting for someone for 11
03:18years. In the lab, a doctor tells Mark about Pratt's test results. He definitely has a sensitivity to
03:23white light and can detect ultraviolet rays, which humans can't do. During the next session, Mark turns
03:28off the lights and shuts the blinds, so Pratt finally takes off his sunglasses. Mark asks him about his
03:34family, but Pratt reveals that on his planet children are raised by everyone and there are no families.
03:38There is no marriage, no government, and no laws either. They don't punish people who do wrong
03:43things because an eye for an eye is seen as a stupid policy. During a family meeting,
03:47Mark talks to his brother-in-law Steve, who is an astronomer. He asks him for some difficult
03:51questions that he can use to challenge Pratt's story. Sometime later, a nurse informs Mark that Howie
03:56hasn't moved from the window in hours. When Mark checks on him, Howie explains he's looking for the
04:01Bluebird of Happiness. He says that Pratt told him to do so as the first of three tasks. If he
04:06completes them, he'll be cured. Mark then looks out the window and is shocked to see that Pratt has
04:10managed to bring Ernie to the garden. He rushes outside and scolds Pratt for interfering with the
04:14people's treatments, pointing out that Pratt is a patient and he is the doctor. Pratt wonders why Mark
04:19hasn't healed anyone then and hands them some papers with the answers to all the astronomy questions.
04:23When Steve receives all the answers, he's shocked to read them all since Pratt knows things that a
04:27mere hobbyist with a telescope can't know. He calls Mark to tell him all this and Mark asks if any
04:32astrophysicists are missing, but Steve doesn't know of any. As days pass, Mark becomes obsessed
04:37with Pratt's case and grows frustrated because there isn't any progress. He even works on the case at
04:42home and ignores his family. One evening, Mark decides to take Pratt to the observatory and the
04:46scientists there ask him a bunch of questions. They want to see how he travels through light and Pratt
04:50simply blinks, saying he left and already came back. The scientists don't take him seriously and ask more
04:55questions, so Pratt uses their equipment to draw a map of various solar systems and adds some
05:00equations that solve a few astronomy problems that humans have been unable to explain.
05:03Everyone is in shock and they don't understand how he could know these things. In the institute,
05:08Howie finally sees the blue bird and yells in excitement. He starts gathering all the patients
05:12and employees and soon a crowd is happily gathering around the window. When Mark checks on all the
05:16commotion, he's shocked to see that even Doris has come out to look at the bird. In the evening,
05:21Bess visits Pratt and says he's the blue bird. Sometime later, Sal asks Pratt to teach him how to
05:25light travel because he wants to leave. He worked as a doorman for an important hotel for 15 years,
05:30and one day he started to notice a horrible smell everywhere. They sent him to the institute and
05:34he's been here for the past 10 years. Pratt is the first person he meets who doesn't stink,
05:38so Sal thinks he may help him. When Pratt tells him stories about the nice smells on his planet,
05:43Sal says he wants to go, but Pratt clarifies that he can only take one person back with him. Soon
05:48Mark
05:48learns that almost every patient thinks they're going to Capax. Pratt assures him that he's told everyone he
05:52can only take one person and announces he's leaving on July 27th. At 5.51, he chose that date for
05:58safety
05:58reasons. That night, Mark is startled awake by a realization. Ignoring his family, he rushes to his
06:04office and checks the recording of Pratt's sessions. He said he arrived on Earth four years, nine months,
06:09and three days ago. Mark does the math and confirms that July 27th will be the fifth year, that's why
06:14Pratt wants to leave on that date. He theorizes that a traumatizing event must have happened to him on that
06:19date. Rachel scolds him for working at this hour and leaves his office in a huff. On the 4th of
06:24July,
06:24Mark's family has another gathering and he invites Pratt to join them. Pratt immediately befriends
06:28the family dog, who never liked anyone before. He proceeds to translate what the dog is saying so
06:33the kids can start treating her better. During lunch, there's a special vegetarian dish just for
06:38him since he doesn't eat meat. Pratt has a great time and by looking at some photographs, he learns that
06:42Mark has a son from his first marriage who doesn't talk to him anymore. He tells Rachel that there are
06:47no
06:47families on his planet and she thinks he's missing something very important. While Pratt helps one of
06:51the girls on the swing, the other kids turn on the sprinklers and the noise makes Pratt freeze.
06:55The girl tries to make him play too but Pratt pulls her back, saying they shouldn't get in the water.
07:00As the men of the family run to hold Pratt down, Rachel takes her daughter away. A nurse gets a
07:04sedative ready, but Pratt finally calms down when they turn off the sprinklers. He mentions apple pie
07:09and walks to the table as if nothing had happened. The next day Mark has to explain to his boss
07:13that
07:14was all an accident and swears that Pratt isn't dangerous. He theorizes that the water must have
07:18triggered a memory of a traumatic incident and wants to do a regression exercise. It may be too
07:22dangerous, but he feels like he's running out of time. Mark goes looking for Pratt and the other
07:27patients tell him that he left to visit a few more countries before his departure. The whole team of
07:31doctors panics when they confirm that Pratt isn't in the building, so they call the authorities.
07:35Three nights later Mark keeps calling shelters to no avail and ends up falling asleep on his desk.
07:40The next morning, Mark looks out the window and finds Pratt casually resting in a tree.
07:44Pratt claims he's visited many countries and points out that he did announce he was leaving.
07:48When Mark mentions hypnosis Pratt turns him down, but Mark says that if he doesn't do it,
07:52his superiors will fill him up with sedatives. While the other doctors watch from behind the window,
07:57Mark proceeds to hypnotize Pratt and asks him about important events of his childhood.
08:01Pratt remembers the funeral of his best friend's father but doesn't recall the man's name.
08:05This father got hurt in the slaughterhouse where he worked and died later,
08:08Pratt refuses to say the location. He clearly feels very uncomfortable and his pulse rate
08:12starts going up very quickly. Mark asks a question to visit another memory and Pratt calms down.
08:17He mentions that he and his best friend used to look at the stars together with his dad's telescope,
08:21and he still insists that he's an alien. His best friend isn't doing very well now,
08:25that's why Pratt came back. Seeing that his patient is starting to feel uncomfortable again,
08:30Mark decides to wake him up and Pratt doesn't realize that the hypnosis already happened.
08:33Afterward Mark asks his secretary to search for slaughterhouses in rural areas with clear night
08:38skies. Meanwhile the patients are arguing over who will get to leave with Pratt, so Howie comes
08:43up with an idea, they'll have to write an essay proving why they must be chosen, and Pratt agrees
08:47to read them all. Soon Pratt agrees to be hypnotized again. He thinks he's with his best friend in 1985
08:52but refuses to say the other boy's name, so Mark decides to call him Pete. Back then, Pete was 17
08:58and Pratt
08:58was 175. Pete had a pregnant girlfriend named Sarah and was panicking about his future. Pratt starts
09:04getting uncomfortable again so Mark asks for a different memory. In 1991, Pratt came back to
09:09visit Pete, who was working at the slaughterhouse and got married to Sarah. Sometime later Mark is
09:14called to check on Ernie in the infirmary because Howie tried to kill him in his sleep. Mark is worried
09:18but Ernie assures him he's fine, even saying it was wonderful. While Howie was choking him Ernie stopped
09:23breathing, so Howie rushed him to the infirmary and brought him back to life. When Ernie woke up,
09:27he realized that dying isn't something you have control over, so it's a waste of life to be
09:31afraid of it. Now Ernie feels great and is ready to do riskier things like eating fish with bones.
09:36Next Mark checks on Howie, who guesses he's cured Ernie. He says that this was his second
09:40task from Pratt and he only needs one more to be cured too. The following day, Mark hypnotizes
09:45Pratt again and mentions the date July 27, 1996. Pratt says he's on K-Pax but he feels something is
09:51wrong with Pete so he immediately travels to Earth. He finds Pete jumping into the river to self-delete
09:56because of something horrible that happened, but Pratt refuses to say what. His vitals start going
10:00crazy yet Mark refuses to wake him up because he wants answers. Suddenly Pratt pushes Mark off and
10:05falls to his knees to have a huge breakdown. The nurses rush in to sedate him, but Mark stops them
10:10and carefully approaches Pratt to wake him up. Some things fell from Pratt's pockets during the
10:14incident so Mark picks them up. On his way home, Mark realizes he still has Pratt's pencil in his pocket.
10:20Looking at it, he finds the number 505 and the word SALVA. He rushes to a payphone to make some
10:25calls and
10:25confirms that 505 is the area code for New Mexico. After realizing that SALVA stands for Salvation Army,
10:31he returns to the office to put this information together with his secretary's research. By searching
10:36for a place with a river, a slaughterhouse, and a Salvation Army, they find Guadalupe County. On the
10:41news for July 27, 1996, they read that a man named Robert Porter drowned. Mark immediately flies to
10:47Guadalupe County and asks the sheriff about the case. Robert had been smart and kind, and he lived
10:52outside of town with his wife and child. The sheriff takes Mark to Robert's old house and tells
10:56him what happened. A criminal broke into the house and took advantage of Robert's wife before killing
11:01both her and the daughter. When Robert came home from work, he found the bodies of his loved ones
11:05and snapped so badly that he killed the criminal by breaking his neck. Outside the house, Mark finds
11:10sprinklers and a swing just like his own garden, and imagines Robert washing his bloodstained hands there.
11:15Next the sheriff takes Mark to the river and shows him where they found Robert's clothes.
11:18They think he self-deleted, but the body was never found. On July 27, the patients are having a little
11:24party to gather all the essays and say goodbye to Pratt. Mark calls him to his office for a last
11:28drink.
11:29Pratt says that nobody misses him back on K-Pax, but he gets the feeling that he'll be missed on
11:33Earth.
11:34He tells Mark to call his son and fix things. Mark then shows him a high school yearbook with a
11:38photo
11:38of Robert Porter, confirming they look exactly the same. When Mark says they're the same person,
11:43Pratt denies it and asks Mark to take care of Robert after he's gone. Afterward Pratt joins the party.
11:48Sal wants to know who is the chosen one and Pratt says they'll get extra points for going to bed
11:52early,
11:52so everyone rushes to their rooms. On her way out, Bess drops her crumpled essay on the table.
11:57Howie stays to ask for his last task, so Pratt tells him to stay here and be prepared for anything.
12:02Then Howie gives him the essays before going to his room too and Pratt adds Bess abandoned paper on the
12:06pile. Meanwhile Mark is visited by Rachel, who has brought him food. He's grateful and tries to be a
12:12better husband. In the middle of the night, lights flicker above the city. A few hours later,
12:16Mark realizes he's overslept and it's almost 5.51. As he rushes downstairs, he notices that the sun is
12:22slowly coming out and realizes that Pratt chose sunrise as his departure time. In his room,
12:27Pratt takes off his glasses and stares at the window. The nurse guarding the door notices he's
12:31moving, but at that moment the security cameras stop working. By the time Mark makes it to the room,
12:36he can't see Pratt anywhere. A closer look reveals his unconscious body under the bed. The nurses take the
12:42body out on a stretcher and the other patients are confused because they don't see him as Pratt anymore.
12:46Ernie points out that Pratt is gone, and the group suddenly realizes that Bess has disappeared.
12:50They run to her room and find her essay on her bed. Howie reads it to confirm that she was
12:55the chosen
12:55one, and the last page shows the message I have no home. As days pass, Mark continues to take care
13:00of
13:00Robert's catatonic body because Pratt asked him to. The man is alive but he won't move or talk. It turns
13:06out
13:06Pratt was an alien who used his best friend's body after his self-deletion to visit Earth.
13:10Robert's personality only came out when the trauma was triggered by the sprinklers and the hypnosis.
13:14Pratt said he could only take one person to Kapax because he needed a new body.
13:18Mark tells Robert stories of how all the patients are doing better thanks to him,
13:22and shares that Bess was never found. After work, Mark goes to the station and finally is brave enough
13:26to reunite with his son.
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